Deen Tight: Bridging faith, music & tradition

Islamic music has long been rigidly related to just nasyeed, an Islamic vocal music that is either sung a capella or accompanied by percussion instruments such as the daff. In general, true Islamic nasyeed does not contains lamellaphone instruments, string instruments or wind and brass instruments as Muslim scholars interpret Islam as prohibiting the use of musical instruments except for some basic percussion.



Nowadays, a new refreshing Islamic music has became phenomenal through the evolution of songs with Islamic values lyrics in variety of genre such as R&B, Soul, pop, hip-hop, rock, metal and you-name-it. Just look at the popularity of Maher Zain(Sweedish singer, musician, songwriter, composer), Yusuf Islam (Cat Steven), Sami Yusuf (Iranian musician, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter), Opick (Indonesian singer, song writer) etc.

7 Sept 2011, Wed. 8 - 11pm. KDU College, Damansara Jaya.

Out of curiosity, I attended a documentary filmmaking workshop and a screening of a film by Mustafa Davis, an award winning American Muslim filmmaker: Deen Tight - Bridging Faith, Music and Tradition.



Sitting in the lecture hall reminds me of the memorable experiences during my university years. It feels good. Smiled. The event started with the screening of the film followed by Q&A with Mustafa Davis on topics related to film making and production.

www.deentight.com
Music, considered taboo practice by many traditional Muslims, has also become one of the most prominent methods for Muslims to share their faith internationally through Muslim Hip Hop. Hip Hop is a global phenomenon reaching from the skyscraper laden skies of New York all the way to the deep deserts of Arabia and beyond. It is a subculture that transcends boundaries of language, gender, and religion. Deen Tight brings to the screen the untold story of Western Muslims struggling to find a balance between their culture and their religion.

Filmed on location with Muslim rappers, DJs, slam poets, breakdancers and a graffiti artist in concerts, recording studios, at homes and in the streets. The story focuses on the perceived conflict between traditional religious ideals and modernity, as well as both the positives and negatives of Western Pop culture on todays’ Muslim youth.

Synopsis:
We follow a group of Muslim Hip Hop artists living in the United States and United Kingdom. They discuss intimately with us the challenges they face trying to balance their faith, culture, and the pressures of daily Western life.

The film provides an intimate look into the lives of a group we know very little about and how they deal with the many issues surrounding their culture and religion. Mutah Beale (formerly Napoleon of Tupac Shakur’s Outlawz) is adamant about leaving music and the Hip Hop scene as an act of obedience to God. Rapper Tyson Amir Mustafa and HBO Def Poet Amir Sulaiman see nothing wrong with using music as a form of cultural expression and DJ BelikeMuhammad even claims to use Hip Hop as a means of proselytizing his faith.

We show both sides of this conflict, through intimate and emotional scenes where the artists candidly express what motivates them to feel the way they do.

This is the tale of one of the most influential pop culture movements of our time and its relationship to Islam, one of the worlds fastest growing religions.




Struggles in bridging faith, music & tradition

The film screens different perspectives from both side: the protagonist and antagonist. Antagonist may present through phobia, interest, insecurity and community. Mustafa Davis explained that the film doesn't showcase opinion from any Muslim scholars because what they said will suppress the voices of others. Fair enough.

Here, I tried to discuss and reflect what I learned from the screening. This is merely my own personal opinion and it's in no way meant to undermine anyone. Wallahualam (Only Allah knows).

Dakwah in the new millennium

Rap, hip hop and graffiti are the language of today's youth. It's part of American lifestyle, culture and tradition. That's how the youth express their feelings, emotions and telling stories from heart to heart. They convey positive message through hip hop and rap to uplift other people and bring joy to them. To me, even when they speak a normal conversation, they sound rapping :-)



Actually, I prefer R&B and soul songs like Maher Zain's because it sounds tender, delicate and touching to the heart. Listening to the rap by Kumasi in the film make me understand how rap can also be as tender and touching as the R&B and soul. Rapping by Kumasi at the end of the film is my favorite. The wordings on submission to Allah flows through the way Kumasi rapping is just marvelous. The script was composed by Mustafa Davis himself.

Graffiti art work by Mohammed Ali has taken across the globe with his fusion of street-art and Islamic script. He describes his work as, 'taking the best of both worlds' and bridging back to the forefront principles that are gradually fading away from our modern societies. Music and arts are powerful tool to transform today's multi-cultural societies. However, vandalism is where the problem may come when youths start expressing their feelings and art work mischievously. The youths spray out bad words all over the place illegally and create unpleasant view. During my train trip from Amsterdam to Den Bosch, I could vividly see graffiti sprayed all over the place. It makes me feel a bit insecure.

Mission impossible

As a form of dakwah, some of them even take an extra steps by performing rap and hip hop at disco and clubs. They feel that they need to reach out to the people who needs the message of Allah the most - the pimps, party goers, alcoholics and the gangs. It's a risky mission though. Come to think about it, these kind of people won't go to the mosque or religious events. So, the only way the message of Allah can reach them is that we have to go to them. It reminds me of the tazkirah I recently listened to at the mosque in the month of Ramadhan. The delivery was quite stern just like how politician shouts out promises in the election campaign. I can imagine how they would respond if they listen to that. I myself prefer a gentle delivery.

I guess rap and hip hop are youthful refreshing approach. Nevertheless, some may start with the pour intention of dakwah but turn into being overzealous and then lose focus along the way. So, we've got to always reflect, remind ourselves as to who we are and what's our mission is.

Music is in their blood

Some claim that music is part of their blood. Their parents, grandparents and great great grandparents are doing this. Here, we shall treat this very carefully and learn lessons from the story of Prophet Ibrahim where he reasoning with his father and his people about their belief and practice.

Surah (Chapter) Ash -Shu’ara” (The Poets), The Quran 26:69-82

And recite to them the story of Ibrahim (Abraham)[69]
When he said to his father and his people: “What do you worship?” [70]
They said” We worship idols, and to them we are ever devoted.” [71]
He said: “Do they hear you, when you call on (them)?” [72]
“Or do they benefit you or do they harm (you)?” [73]
They said: “(Nay) but we found our fathers doing so.” [74]
He said: “Do you observe that which you have been worshipping - [75]
“You and your ancient fathers? [76]
Verily they are enemies to me, save the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists), [77]
“Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me. [78]
“And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink. [79]
“And when I am ill, it is He who cures me. [80]
“And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (again). [81]
“And Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense, (the Day of Resurrection). [82]



Please don't get me wrong here. I'm not equating the music to worshiping other than Allah. My point here is on the gist of the story. Tradition may be good and bad. Take one example, bullfighting, it's a tradition in Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries in which bulls are baited in the bullring for sports and entertainment. Oh yeah..it's a bloody sport, but then they regard it as a fine art. Each year, approximately 250,000 bulls died in bullfights [peta]. The point here is that we shall not merely follow the tradition without reasoning. Perhaps, we could transform the bad into good. Wallahualam (Only Allah knows).

Stay within boundaries

Contradicting opinions on faith, music and tradition may be there. I shall not make any conclusion on this matter as I'm not in the position to do so. I could understand the challenges these people face in bridging them together. It can bring benefits in some ways and can also cause harm in some other ways.

Perhaps, we could have done much better by unleashing the full potential of our mind with the guidance of Al-Quran and As-Sunnah to explore, learn, reason and understand while staying within the boundaries to the best of our ability. Wallahualam.

Other stuff:

Achievement vs brain drain based on the talk by Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti on the topic "Pursuing the path of knowledge"

Traditional Islam in America based on the talk by Imam Finch

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Traditional Islam in America

As I mentioned in my earlier post, one of my resolution for this year is to make time for Majlis Ilmu. Last night, I attended a talk titled 'Traditional Islam in America' by Imam Finch (Muhammad Abdul Latif Finch). It was my second talk channeled through Brother Mahdar from Arabic Academy Malaysia. From time to time I get talk invitations from him and I will try to attend whenever time permit.

Imam Finch is the imam at the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California. He is a teacher and program developer for Deen Intensive Foundation. He also works with SeekersGuidance and assists Zaytuna College's annual Summer Arabic Intensive program in Berkeley, California. He is one of five students who comprised the first graduating class of the Zaytuna seminary program. Born in El Paso, Texas and raised in the south, he embraced Islam in 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia when he was 20 years old. He graduated in 2008 with an ijazah in basic sciences of Islam.

'Traditional Islam in America' is indeed quite a tough topic to discuss. The speaker himself admitted this fact. He said that Islam in America has just reaching 50 years and that's not long enough to form a traditional Islam.

Wait a minute... what is 'Traditional Islam' really means?
I was puzzled myself.

Wikipedia defines 'Traditional Islam' as cultural Muslim, that is a general term used to define a group of people who are identified by association with a Muslim community rather than Islamic faith or rituals.

Okay, now I get it. In other words, what are the norms or traits which give the impression that a person or a group of people is the Muslims.

The discussion with Imam Finch was not as structured as the first talk by Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti which I attended sometime ago. To be honest, I'm quite disappointed :-( Imam Finch didn't really explore the topic sufficiently and simply rest with the fact that America has no traditional Islam. Which I can argue with his own fact which says traditional Islam evolves over time.

Traditional Islam Evolution
Traditional Islam evolves over time, transforming the way people live their lives, the fashion and style they put on, the way they speak and think.

People change and we ourselves can be foreign from our traditional Islam in which we came from. Imam Finch asked "How many are Malays here?" - Majority put up hands. "Who feels more confidence conversing in English than Malay?" - A few put up hands. "See.. you are foreign yourself, different from your tradition."

If traditional Islam evolves over time, it can exists as early as a second and start to evolve from then onwards. Hence, there must also be traditional Islam in America which has started since the last 50 years, although it is not pretty distinct like any other Islamic countries.



I once read an article in Al-Islam magazine which says that the niqab (purdah) is a custom or common practice in the Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE. So, I would say that's what defines traditional Islam in Arab countries. I believe there are distinctive values or style in other Islamic countries as well. But, the essence is still the same that is to cover the aurat e.g covering the head and bosom in this context.

I went for sight-seeing at Suomenlinna Island in Helsinki last month and met a Malaysian family, a couple with 4 kids. FYI, there are very very minimal Muslims tourist over there. During my 1-week work-stay, I only saw Muslims women twice! So, seeing someone with hijab (tudung) is very obvious among the people in the city. I remember the wife said to me she recognized me as Malaysian by my hijab style. So, I would say that's our traditional Islam in Malaysia, I guess.

Nevertheless, lifestyle, customs and cultural practices covering as small matters as food, drink, dress code to bigger matters like jurisprudence, administration and everything we believe, do and say, has to fall back to the essence of Islam, that are Al-Quran and As-Sunnah Wal Jamaah.

Deen = mind + body + soul = Iman + Islam + Ihsan

“Say: If you all love Allah, then wholeheartedly follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive your sins” (Koran 3:31). Man is body, mind, and soul all together, and does not find the deep inner peace of true religion without Islam, Iman, and Ihsan all together. It means observing the law (shari‘a), knowing the faith (‘aqida), and realizing the soul’s potential (tariqa).

P/S: What's written here is from my shallow and little knowledge and understanding. After all, I'm a learner myself.
Wallahualam...

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Achievement vs brain drain

Last Wed night, I attended a talk by Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti on the topic "Pursuing the path of knowledge".

Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti is Fellow in Islamic Studies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Islamic Centre Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford and is a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford where he teaches both Islam and Christianity. Born in Malaysia, pursued and received a First Class degree in Scholastic Philosophy and History of Science from the Queen's University Belfast and subsequently completed his DPhil in Medieval Arabic Philosophy from Oxford University as a Clarendon Scholar in 2008. More about him here

I'm really glad that I made time for the talk despite of workload in the office and having no idea how to get to the venue. Thanks to brother Mahdar for giving me the perfect road instructions and credits to google map too :D

I've never heard about Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti before. Knowing about him indeed proves that Malaysia does have intelligent talents. As we all heard from the news however, many of our talents went abroad.

This comes down to ONE question which he asked during the talk:
"The success of Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti is an achievement or brain drain?"

I would say that this question is very interesting and indeed tricky. It's like between the devil and the deep blue sea. I'll try to explore this question using what I have learned from the talk that night.

Achievement


As the first ever Malay to be appointed to such position in this world famous University, this is definitely a great achievement. His excellence in his field of study has made him as the expert in Islamic theology, philosophy and science. The Malays should be honored and take him as an example to inspire us to stride to a greater height in our own field and professions. We have to shift our paradigm of thinking and believe that we can become successful Malays but not malaise.

His great achievements are recognized with various awards such as in 2009, shortlisted for the Annual UK Muslim Awards, in one of its 15 coveted Awards for Excellence, the Allama Iqbal Award for Creativity in Islamic Thought and in 2010, appointed Privy Councillor to the State of Perak, Malaysia by the Crown Prince of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.

In addition to his critically acclaimed written works, he has worked on several BBC documentaries including the recent Science and Islam.

His achievement is the result of 6 secrets of becoming a successful student of knowledge (wisdom of Imam Syafie):

a) Intelligence (akal)
- He is gifted by Allah SWT with intelligence and capability to learn, understand, teach and share knowledge with others.

b) Zeal (determination)
- There is no short cut to success. Zeal, determination, passion and hardwork are important elements to his excellence. There is a saying goes "seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave" which mean never stop in seeking knowledge until the day we die.

c) Humble
- In Malay, there is a saying goes “Ikut resmi padi, makin berisi semakin tunduk” or “Follow the way of the rice sheaf, the heavier it is, the more it bends”. With the sense of humble, he continues his research and work although he already achieved a great achievement. The more he shares his knowledge, the more beneficial they are for others and there is no benefit of being snobbish or riak.

d) Go out of comfort zone (Qurban/Hijrah)
- Another saying goes "seek knowledge as far as China". He took the challenge to go abroad and compete in international arena to hold such position in reputable University. He sacrificed comfortable life in own country (Qurban) to stride for international achievement.

e) Company of teacher
- Knowledgable friends, intellectual leaders and teachers are important reference of knowledge. Seeking knowledge is a serious business, therefore, having the right teacher leads to the right path.

f) Care for his body
- Taking good care of health, body and mind through healthy diet and lifestyle influence personality and achievement.

In short, Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti’s achievement is his excellence in pursuing the path of knowledge and shares them with others through lectures, discussion, talks and writings.

Brain drain


Brain drain is actually a world crisis. Malaysia’s brain drain appears to be picking up speed. According to a recent parliamentary report, 140,000 left the country, probably for good in 2007. Between March 2008 and August 2009, the figure went double to 305,000 as talented people abandoned the country.

Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti who left the country for the past 20 years is certainly contributing to the diminishing great talents in our country. In fact, I was one of the contributors to the statistics too. I left for Singapore in 2005 and worked there in information and technology field for 3 and half years. I just returned to Malaysia in 2009 during the global financial crisis.

Relating to my experience in Singapore, I never feel regret of leaving Malaysia. Going abroad, away from my own country has actually opened my mind and broadens my perspective. I experienced new things and explored different lifestyle. I witnessed a commendable social awareness and discipline – the pedestrian is the king of the road in Singapore. Unlike Malaysia, the car in Singapore will stop at the zebra cross when pedestrians are crossing. If you do that here in Malaysia, you will be ended up in Hospital Kuala Lumpur! There is also a small group of Syiah muslims in Singapore, whose practice a little bit different than us, the Sunni’s. I have to accustom to a faster pace of life – in the morning, you can see lines of people marching like robots in and out of MRT stations.

There is always a price to pay when we want to stride greater heights. In my opinion, people who went abroad, when they come back to Malaysia, they have greater potentials with more experience who can bring in new or different ideas and perspective to make our country even better.

Conclusion

I don’t think Malaysia is at total lost by losing these talented professionals. It’s just a matter of time and of course the government also has to play an active role to attract these talented professionals to contribute to the country. World is now borderless and it’s a tense competition. Whichever country that has attractive space, be it in politics, economy and social space, that is where talents and business opportunities will flock in.

There are many ways of contributions and it is not limited to just living and working in our own country. In the case of Shaykh Afifi Al Akiti, his contributions actually span across the western and eastern countries through his intellectual lectures, talks, discussions and writings. For example, the talk we had that night discussing “Pursuing the path of knowledge” is one example of his contribution to the people in our country. He’s bringing in his knowledge and share with all of us where we eventually can spread the knowledge to the rest. It’s all about balancing and contributions back to the country can be in one way or another.

Western people are now at the top of the world and Muslims are lagging behind although Muslims were once known as the leader of civilization with well-known intellectuals and outstanding achievements in mathematics, science and technology during the dark ages of the westerns. Unfortunately, the ball of knowledge is now in the hands of the westerns. In order to regain the ball of knowledge, the Muslims have to engage to the other side of the world to seek knowledge, to go beyond the comfort zone and bring it back. We can’t just wait for the ball to come to us.

For those who attended the talk, they might notice that I actually use some of the contents I learned during the talk when exploring the question above. In a way, other people can also pick some points for the purpose of learning and reflections.
Enjoy!

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